In communication systems, how information is transferred from one point to another is important. Also of importance is the successful transfer of the information. Acknowledgement of receipt of the information communicated is often used to convey the successful or non-successful transfer of the information. Information may be in the form of packets, streams, reads, writes, etc.
How an acknowledgement is performed, if and when it is sent, as well as the point at which it is sent may affect system performance. For example, if an acknowledgement is only sent after the receiving end has completed the entire reception of what was transmitted, this may delay the transmitting device from sending additional information until the prior transmission is acknowledged. On the other hand, if the transmitter sends information without regard to whether the receiver has actually received the information may also present problems in the communication system.